Radiant Hearts

Sharing the History of Radiant Hearts

Posted on Jun 6, 2013 in Radiant Hearts | 0 comments

When I became a mom, I felt totally unprepared for what was facing me. And I don’t just mean the choices about baby products and the sleepless nights, although all that by itself was overwhelming already.

I recognized the incredible responsibility of mothers as the first educator of their children, and was daunted by the task ahead. I was having trouble figuring out how to keep the house clean, laundry washed, and food on the table! How could I nurture my child’s spirit with prayers and daily devotion? How could I teach him about virtues and what they mean in every day life? And in order to make it practical, how could I make it all part of our daily routine?

The Radiant Hearts program was designed out of my experience trialing many ideas and figuring out how to put them together in a simple, complete program.

Virtue Library: Books to Help Teach About Spiritual Qualities

Posted on May 29, 2013 in Radiant Hearts | 0 comments

Nowadays there are so many resources out there for teaching children about virtues. Our Radiant Hearts program is one of these: the 19 Online Lessons focus on a spiritual quality (such as friendliness, courtesy, or patience) and contain 19 simple activities appropriate for children under 5 complete with printables, songs to listen to online, and more – therefore one activity for every day of the year (there is also a shortened Online Lesson focusing on Ayyam-i-Ha). The program also offers a quotation and prayer for each lesson, including a song and simple craft for each to make memorization fun and easy.

All the Radiant Hearts Online Lessons also have a link to our Virtue Library which contains several book titles we recommend for teaching each lesson.

Five Tips for Using the Radiant Hearts Program in Your Home

Posted on Apr 3, 2013 in Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 4 comments

Radiant Hearts was developed to aid families with young children to memorize Baha’i prayers and quotations of Baha’u’llah, and learn about spiritual qualities. The set-up is that each Baha’i month a family studies a new lesson which focuses on a spiritual quality. There is one prayer and one quotation per lesson, each put to music which is available on the Online Lesson. All documents required to implement the lesson are available online, as well.

I would like to share five main points I feel are helpful in implementing Radiant Hearts as a tool for assisting spiritual education in the home. I hope these points help you prioritize which parts of the program are best for you and will also help you enjoy using the program a bit more.

Radiant Hearts Program Now Complete!

Posted on Jan 16, 2013 in From the Admins, Radiant Hearts | 0 comments

We are happy to announce that the Radiant Hearts program is now complete! The 20 lessons – 19 for each Baha’i month plus one extra for Ayyam-i-Ha – are now available from the Radiant Hearts main page.

We have made the Radiant Hearts materials free because we want everyone to have access to them. However you can probably imagine how much has gone into making this comprehensive multimedia program available. If you feel moved, you can donate to our efforts and your donation will help cover the expenses of running and maintaining our website, as well as help us to create more resources in the coming year.

To thank you for your generosity each person who donates will gain access

to our membership materials, which include over 25 downloadable

documents to support spiritual education. Go here for more information.

Building Community through a Baha’i Preschool Class (Guest Post: Katie Esquivel)

Posted on Jan 9, 2013 in Childrens Classes, Radiant Hearts | 9 comments

Katie, mother of two, shares her family’s experience teaching a Bahá’í Preschool Class in her neighborhood.

The education of children has always been a passion for me, but having children of my own really put early childhood education, specifically spiritual education, in the forefront of my mind like never before. The days (and years) pass by so quickly and it doesn’t take long to realize that this most critical time for their character development will soon pass, as with each year their personalities and qualities become more and more solidified; never unchanging, but the opportunity for the nourishing of virtues and spiritual qualities that is present during the first several years of life is unique. It was this sense of quiet urgency that propelled me into action.

What Our Kids Are Saying About Radiant Hearts

Posted on Oct 24, 2012 in Radiant Hearts | 1 comment

We all know kids say the funniest things. We’d love to hear what your kids are saying about what they have learned through the Radiant Hearts program.

Here are a few things our three-year-olds have said over the past six months:

“Mum, fill yourself up with sugar, love and harmony!” (similar to the quotation from the lesson for Friendliness)

Mom says, “You need to be helpful.” Child says, “That’s what behooveth man means!” (referencing the quotation in the lesson for Helpfulness)

Child is on the brink of a tantrum when told to get out of bath so mommy says loudly, “Stop shouting and screaming!” Child suddenly calms down and says, “When you get mad, mommy, you need to practice the virtue that I’m practicing.” (referencing Peacefulness)

While playing on the playground, child slid down the fireman pole for the first time on his own then ran up to daddy and said, “I’m being courage, daddy!” (referencing Courage)

“I love you all the way around the world, I love you so much that you don’t even know how much I love you.” (referencing Love)

Please Share Your Feedback! (And See Radiant Hearts in Action)

Posted on Aug 28, 2012 in Radiant Hearts | 0 comments

Radiant Hearts is a free online multimedia program which offers music to learn prayers and quotations from the Baha’i Writings, and a downloadable lesson of virtue-related activities for every day of the year. It is available to everyone and it’s all very simple to use.

Occasionally we receive messages about how families are using the program and about how their children are responding. It is so heartening to hear these stories, and also to learn from the experiences being gained worldwide.

Are you using Radiant Hearts in your home? We would love to hear how it’s going and get your honest feedback about what you like, don’t like, and what your children think, too.

Therefore we have created a simple online survey which you can submit anonymously. It is only seven questions and should take less than five minutes.

Plus you will get to share your opinion about what materials we should release next. We have four supplementary products to the Radiant Hearts program in the works and would like you to help us decide which to focus on finishing up (and making available to you) first.

Our Experience with Radiant Hearts (Guest Post: Leanna GM)

Posted on Aug 22, 2012 in Prayers with Children, Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 4 comments

Leanna, mother of a two and a half year old, shares her family’s experience using the Radiant Hearts program.

When we started using the Radiant Hearts program in my family I wasn’t sure how much of the ideas were sinking into my son’s consciousness. I tried to keep my expectations low – after all, he is just a two year old, having fun with songs and construction paper, right?

Yet as time has gone on, I’ve noticed that he has become comfortable with the vocabulary of the program and can easily use the language of virtues in our daily routines. He knows what it means to use a “gentle” voice or to have “courage” before going to the doctor. Just the other day, when I reminded him that we would have to wait a while for something to happen (his birthday!), he nodded and said, “Patience.” All these concepts are still developing, of course, but I am constantly impressed by how much of the lessons he has absorbed and how they have given us tools to discuss appropriate behavior.

I am constantly impressed by how much of the lessons he has absorbed and how they have given us tools to discuss appropriate behavior.

If you are not familiar with Radiant Hearts, it is a program for spiritual development designed for little ones, from babies to preschoolers. Which means that it gives parents tools to explain spiritual concepts in terms that kids can understand. What does friendliness mean, for example? Sharing your toys, saying hello, smiling, helping someone.

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Introducing “Radiant Hearts” – Fostering Development of Spiritual Qualities

Posted on Mar 15, 2012 in From the Admins, Our Resources, Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 2 comments

We are excited to launch “Radiant Hearts” a full-year program for families to learn Baha’i prayers, Writings, and spiritual qualities together. A lesson based on a spiritual quality will be ready for you to download before each Baha’i Feast starting Naw Ruz 2012, complete with activities including music, print-outs, and photo examples for every day of the year.

First things first…

What is Radiant Hearts?

Radiant Hearts is a program for parents to learn about and teach spiritual qualities to their young children, as well as memorize Baha’i prayers and quotations of Baha’u'llah. Its mission is to help families with children from birth to four years old incorporate learning about spiritual qualities into their daily, weekly and/or monthly routines.

The aim for the program is for families:

To learn prayers together
To learn quotations of Baha’u’llah together
To learn about spiritual qualities together
To create and use resources that will help them incorporate learning about spiritual qualities into their daily routines
To have materials available to host a Baha’i Preschool Class and/or a Devotional, should they wish to

I love having the list to look through and pick out quickly something fun and meaningful to do with Nika. Somehow you’ve put together a very appropriate list of activities that capture my 3 and a half year old’s attention.

Elham Mom of a three year old

What does the program consist of?

Nineteen lessons for each of the 19 Baha’i months, each focused on one spiritual quality. Each lesson consists of one prayer and one quotation set to music, and using stories, songs, and simple activities suited to young children (up to one for each day of the month) helps families learn about spiritual qualities together.

How can I get the materials?

“Virtues In Us” CD – Interview with Musician Nabil Huening

Posted on Mar 12, 2012 in Radiant Hearts, Resources for Children, Virtues in the Home | 2 comments

“Virtues In Us” is the CD we recommend for our Radiant Hearts program. There are 19 simple and easy-to-learn songs each based on a virtue (with versions in both English and Mandarin Chinese). The tunes are upbeat and very easy to sing after you listen a few times to learn them, even without the CD for backup. The CD was recorded by Nabil Huening with children singing in the background.

“Nabil is a singer, songwriter, musician and performer. Nabil was born in Brazil and raised in America but considers himself to be a citizen of the world. He has lived in China for over 12 years and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Nabil has performed at numerous venues across China, regularly appears on Chinese television and radio programs and has played lead roles on CCTV night time dramas and sitcoms. Nabil’s passion is creating meaningful music relevant to the needs of our time.” (From Divine Notes.)

Here is our interview with Nabil.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.

A: My name is Nabil David Huening. I was born in Brazil, raised in America, I have family in Korea, and I currently live and work in China but I travel a lot. I really love to travel, sing, and promote Baha’i music . I just spent two months in Brazil singing with the Baha’is of Florianopolis. I have traveled extensively in China promoting Baha’i music. I am now working on some projects in Dubai and am set to return to China soon. I enjoy making music, and I freelance as an educator, musician, and I frequently perform on Chinese television.

Q: How did you get involved with this CD?